Second Chances (121 page)

“The most people we could get would be about two dozen. Barely a squad,” Gunny Hodges said thoughtfully. “I'm not thrilled about that. He has a valid point about backup and extract,” the Marine said looking at Usher.

“Whose side are you on?” Dunn demanded.

“Do you have any ideas on how to get more bodies?” Gunny Usher asked, turning to the colonel.

“We can ask for volunteers!” Dunn said, jutting his chin out.

“Right, send some numb nut who barely knows which end of a rifle a round comes out down some deep dark hole after Alice? Remember the shark hounds? How well that turned out?” Gunny Usher asked, turning to stare levelly at Travis.

The SEAL grunted. Gunny Hodges winced. They both remembered what Mitch had said when they, Tina, and Akira had pitched that idea to him.

“Robots...” the chief frowned then sighed, “are your domain. So they are out,” he said looking at Mitch. Mitch nodded.

“As for the people on the other continents...” Mitch shrugged. “Sure, I'd like to meet them in theory, but not now.” The others looked at him. He smiled a tight lipped smile. “We've got enough going on right here for years. Again, why borrow trouble? We'll keep an eye out for Vikings, but I'm not set up to mount some sort of expedition to another continent, then handle the logistics to keep them supplied.” He shook his head. “And if the natives turn hostile...,” he wuffled a sigh and sat back. “We don't need that sort of headache. They have us outnumbered, probably thousands to one.”

“We could make weapons, bombs....”

“We don't even know if they are hostile yet,” Gunny Hodges said. He shook his head. “Sometimes knowledge is a two-edged sword,” the gunny said thoughtfully. “Now that we know they exist, they scare us. Before....” He looked at Travis.

“It's an itch we can wait on scratching,” Travis finally said, looking at the colonel, then finally Mitch. “You are right.” Mitch nodded politely back to him.

“You are all stupid fools,” Dunn grumbled, walking out.

“Sour grapes?” Gunny Usher asked.

“I don't know,” Travis said. “Don't care either,” he said.

“He's a colonel without a unit. A man looking for a war to fight,” Gunny Hodges said thoughtfully. “That's dangerous.”

“He can talk the talk, but he's a piker. A weekend warrior. You don't go borrowing trouble. Mitch was right about that,” Travis said, nodding to Mitch. “We have little intel. You don't go gunning for war on a map and no enemy. If we did go over there and it went south, we'd be shooting sure enough. I'm not sure what that would mean long term. I'm not sure I want to find out. They've got the numbers on their side and the home field advantage,” he said.

“Hell, Dunn's not even a weekend warrior,” Gunny Usher said, heading over to the fridge. He pulled out a long neck and held it up. Mitch and the others nodded. He came back with the reused bottles in his fingers. He handed them out to the other people one by one. “He's army for sure, but a dropout.”

“Are you serious?” Travis asked, then he took a pull of the beer. “You're sure about this?”

“He's not a ring knocker, they don't give them out. Yeah, I'm sure. I've gotten to know him and his people for a while now. He's enlisted is my bet. He has a chip out for officers, thinks he can do better than them. Militia is my bet. He probably set himself up as militia before we got yanked here,” he said shaking his head in disgust. “Spare me some twit who thinks he's a tin god.”

“Yeah, a sure way to get someone killed,” Gunny Hodges said, now troubled. “If it's true.”

“We can find out some more,” Gunny Usher said. “I think we should,” he said, nodding to Travis and the others. Travis nodded back.

“He hasn't been very...forward with his deployments has he?” Travis asked thoughtfully. He nodded again, this time grimly. “Yeah, we need to know.”

“He also hasn't said what rank he is. We've seen his leather uniform,” Usher said with a sniff. “Did you notice the lack of rank?”

“I thought that was...wait, if he'd been an officer, wouldn't he have had a uniform to bring over when we were moved here? So why make the leather one?” Hodges said, then frowned thoughtfully. “Yeah, it doesn't fit.”

“I was thinking about how he's never said if he's a full bird or not,” Usher said. “But what you just said is very telling too,” he admitted.

“We need to find out more. He's set himself up as a warlord, and he's trying to build an army. Now he's looking for an enemy to fight, one he can use to inspire fear and terror in people so he has an excuse to build and then use that army. Shit,” Travis said, rubbing his brow. “Way above my pay grade.”

“Not anymore,” Usher said. The SEAL looked at him. “We're all that there is. We're it. So, we've got the ball.” He looked at Mitch. “I think we've all known Dunn's had a thing for you for some time. He's been playing politics, playing games; we've all seen it.”

Mitch nodded as he crossed his arms. “I know.”

“I know you know. You've dropped to his level a few times, but you haven't beaten him to a pulp. But you need to watch your back. He's thinking of you as an obstacle, and an enemy more and more.”

“Think he'll try to kill, Mitch?” Hodges asked softly. Usher shrugged then made a raspberry sound. “Maybe. He's the direct action guy, short fuse normally. We'll have to keep an eye on him. Don't be anywhere he can arrange an accident,” he said, looking Mitch in the eye.

“Right,” Mitch sighed, taking another pull of his beer.

Chapter 53

Once the meeting on the constitution was finished, Mitch made his way tiredly to bed. He caught up with Sandra as she exited their son's room. “He asleep?” he asked softly. She nodded. “Darn.”

“You can read him a story next time dear,” she said.

“Well, there are ways to compensate,” he said, catching her hands and entangling their fingers. She grinned as he kissed her, then wrestled a bit as they made out stumbling along into their suite.

She managed to get the upper hand when he broke for air, dodging a follow-up kiss as she went for the jugular. She nipped his throat, then the side of his neck. He instantly froze. A shrewd twist and hit throw made him break his grip on her fingers and bounce on the bed.

Sandra gave Mitch a roguish grin. “Behave,” she teased saucily. He grinned, but then his grin twisted as his stomach kicked. Nausea ran through him and he immediately started to sweat.

“What's wrong?” She asked as he groaned. “Mitch...”

“Sorry, stomach. Rain check,” he said, flopping back. She was instantly contrite, her medical instincts kicking in. She sat next to him as he blew out a breath. She saw the beads of sweat and felt his forehead. “Mitch! You are burning up!”

“It's just hit me,” he said weakly. When he put his arm on his abdomen, he felt something move. “What the hell?” he said, lifting his arm.

“What?”

“I felt something. Must have been my stomach gurgling,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed. “Come on,” she said, getting to her feet. He groaned. “Come on Mitch, we've got to get you to the infirmary.”

“It's just a stomach ache. Probably too much caffeine or sugar. We've been snacking a lot in the meetings,” he said.

“No, I want to be sure, so get your ass up,” she said, tugging on his arm. He sighed and rose unsteadily to his feet. She made him walk. He blew like a race horse, unsteady on his feet. She hung on, increasingly worried.

Mitch doubled up, vomiting just as the intercom came alive. “Code Blue, infirmary!” Dora's voice said, then repeated.

“Shit,” Sandra said, torn.

“Go,” Mitch coughed, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Sandra, it's Vance and Cassie! They just came in, both of them are sick!” Dora cried over the intercom. Sandra looked up, wide-eyed in fright. “Vance has stopped breathing!”

“Code blue, room fourteen quarters,” the computer said.

“What the hell is going on?” Sandra demanded. Her nose wrinkled. She fought her own nausea, fright made her think at first that it was due to whatever Mitch and the others had contracted. Then she coughed, realizing it was the sickly sweet smell of vomit that had splashed all over her clothes and Mitch.

“Sorry,” Mitch said.

Sandra looked down to see blood in the vomit. Also squirming things. She gasped and stopped her instinctive urge to brush herself. “Fuck!”

“I said I was sorry,” Mitch mumbled weakly.

“Dora! Containment now! We have parasites!” Sandra snarled, ripping her soiled blouse off and balling it up. She saw Janet peek out of her quarters. “Check your kids. Gastric parasites, I'm betting the same from the Tropics,” Sandra said, voice dropping into her cool professional tone as her training took over. Janet stared at her wide-eyed. “Get the food stopped this instant. Go over everything now,” Sandra ordered. Janet nodded.

“Computer, put an emergency call in to the nearest medics. Tell them to get here stat. I don't care how. Wake Jolie if you need to pass on the message,” Sandra said, tucking her arm under her husband. She looked away from the things on his pants. “Come on, move,” she growled, pulling him along to the infirmary.

He wiped his mouth, feeling something moving on his lips. He felt it on his hand and then coughed. “Oh yuck,” he said, then coughed again. Drool came out of his mouth. He felt things in his mouth and the urge to vomit took over again. “Are those what I think they are? Quarantine me,” he said.

“Just shut up and keep moving,” Sandra snarled. She waved off Chief Roberts as he came rushing forward. “Don't! Get a chair! Containment stat!” She said. Roberts froze, and then flashed into action, darting ahead of them into the infirmary.

------*------

Vance flat-lined as Sandra, Chief Roberts and Mitch stumbled into the ER. Dora tried to do her best to intubate and use the paddles on Vance but it was too late. Sandra looked around the room. Cassie was half on a bed and seemed to have fainted; Sandra turned her onto her side to try to keep her airway clear.

“Get out chief, wash up thoroughly. Tell Anne but try to keep people from panicking. We need help,” Sandra said, hands flashing into a blur as she worked to save her husband.

The chief nodded and took off at a trot. He dodged Giles as he carried his unconscious sister into the ER. “Epidemic,” The chief said. Giles looked at him, half panicked. “Let's hope not kid,” the chief muttered.

He passed Sara and Kamerin supporting a retching Jaden in between them. The teen left a stream of vomit behind him. The chief dodged it and then pointed to a shocked looking Nora Fen. “Don't let anyone touch that stuff,” he said.

“I'm not cleaning it up, his mess,” she said, shaking her head.

“Not what I meant. Something is making people sick. You make sure no one touches that.” He turned and pointed to Janet. “Janet, get word to Anne we've got an epidemic of some sort. Food or virus related. Hopefully it's the stomach flu or food poisoning, but I doubt it,” he said. He turned to see maggots and worms in the vomit trail writhing about. “Something tells me no,” he said.

Janet looked at the worms and covered her mouth, horrified. She grabbed Nora and pulled the girl close to her. “I've got some calls to make,” the chief said, taking off at a trot once more.

------*------

Sandra and Dora worked feverishly on the five patients but were overwhelmed. Sandra grimly stuck to triage. They had to give up on Vance; there was no brain activity. He was dead. Tisha didn't make it as well. In carrying her to the infirmary, Giles hadn't made certain her airway was clear. She'd suffocated on her own blood and vomit. Giles was heartbroken; he fell to his knees crying. Unfortunately, the ladies were too busy trying to save other lives to comfort him.

Ducky arrived at a trot and dived in to help. He took over the dead, doing a quick and dirty autopsy, he confirmed the parasites were indeed the same as in the tropics.

They were afraid they would lose all of them, but somehow through their frantic efforts they did however stabilize Mitch, Cassie and Jaden. They gave each liberal doses of the anthelmintic drug cocktail Toki Oshiwa and Dajanah Zu had confirmed was the most effective at combating the parasitic Xeno worms. They also flushed each of them out using a stomach pump and laxative. It was terrible business, messy and horrifying to see dozens of the worms coming out of them. Fortunately all three patients had passed out. Sandra even hooked each up to a blood filtration device as well as a dialysis machine to try to flush out as many of the parasites as possible.

By examining what came out of him, Mitch was judged the least affected. Vance, Jaden, Tisha, and Cassie had been infected the worst with the parasites. Cassie clung to life, muttering in her sleep worriedly about her baby. She fought them, tried to pull the intubation tube out of her throat. Sandra increased the sedation of her daughter to keep her under. She worried about the baby briefly, then discarded the thought. The first priority was her daughter's survival.

Jamal flew Nicole in to help with the gastric surgery. It was gruesome and disgusting but necessary if Cassie, Jaden and Mitch were to survive. They had to flush them out, irrigating their abdomens and go over their intestines carefully. They lost Jaden on the operating table when a parasite got to his brain and caused an embolism.